How to Get a PA Crash Report: Step by Step for State Police, Philadelphia and Upper Darby Crashes

The short answer: ask the police department that responded

To get a copy of a Pennsylvania crash report, request it from the police department that investigated the crash. If the Pennsylvania State Police responded, you can order the report online from the State Police for a $22 fee once it is available, usually 15 days after the crash. If a municipal department responded, such as the Philadelphia Police or the Upper Darby Township Police, you request it through that city or township, and each sets its own process and fee.

Pennsylvania law says police departments must, on request, furnish an official copy of the full crash investigation report to any person involved in the crash, that person's attorney or insurer, and certain government agencies (75 Pa.C.S. § 3751(b)(1)). If you were a driver, passenger, pedestrian or cyclist in the crash, you are entitled to ask for it.

Step 1: Figure out which police agency handled your crash

Many drivers are not sure which department came to the scene, especially on roads where township lines meet or on highways the State Police patrol. When police investigate a reportable crash, the officer must give each driver a signed statement that the crash was reported (75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(c)). Look at that paper, the officer's business card or any exchange-of-information slip. It should show the department name and an incident or report number.

If you have nothing in writing, call the non-emergency number for the municipality where the crash happened and ask whether its officers responded. A crash on a local road in Upper Darby is usually handled by the Upper Darby Township Police. A crash on a state highway or in an area without local police coverage may be handled by the Pennsylvania State Police. In Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Police Department investigates, and reports are released through the city's Department of Records.

Step 2: Gather the details you will need

Every agency asks for similar information. Have it ready before you start:

• The date and approximate time of the crash.
• The location, including the street, the nearest cross street and the municipality.
• The names of the drivers involved.
• The incident, report or district control number, if you have it.
• A government-issued photo ID, if you are applying in person or the agency requires identification.

Crashes investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police

The State Police sell crash reports for crashes their troopers investigated. According to the Commonwealth's official request page, the fee is $22 and reports become available 15 days after the date of the crash. Anyone involved in the crash, their attorney or insurer, and government agencies involved can request one.

You can order online through the State Police crash report request site linked from pa.gov. To request by mail, download form SP 7-0015, complete and sign it, and send it with the $22 fee, paid by one of the methods the form lists and payable to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to the State Police Crash Reports Unit at 1800 Elmerton Avenue, Harrisburg, PA 17110. Check the pa.gov page before you send payment in case the fee or form has changed.

Crashes in Philadelphia

In Philadelphia, crash reports (formerly called traffic accident reports) are released by the City's Department of Records, not by the police district. You can apply online through the city's public safety reports application at public-safety-reports.phila.gov, or in person or by mail at the Department of Records, Public Safety Records Unit, City Hall, Room 170, 1400 John F. Kennedy Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19107. The city lists in-person hours of Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The city's crash report application lists a fee of $25 per report, and it asks applicants to allow 2 to 3 weeks from the date of the crash before applying. The application asks for the date and location of the crash, the drivers' names, the district control number, a signed affidavit and a photo ID, and the city notes that the driver's name must be on the report to receive a copy. You can get the district control number by calling the police district where the crash happened. For in-person and mail requests, the city accepts cash, money orders and business checks, among other listed methods, but not personal checks or credit or debit cards.

Crashes in Upper Darby Township

For crashes investigated by the Upper Darby Township Police, the township says to request the report from the Records Office at the Upper Darby Police Station, 7236 West Chester Pike, Upper Darby, PA 19082. The township lists the fee for incident and accident reports as $15, and it accepts only checks or money orders.

The Upper Darby Police Department's own website also links to an online portal where some motor vehicle crash reports can be downloaded, and notes that not every crash is available online. If yours is not there, call or visit the records office.

Other municipalities in Delaware County, and the State Police for the areas they cover, handle their own reports. If a different department responded to your crash in Drexel Hill, Lansdowne, Yeadon or elsewhere, contact the department that responded and ask for its crash report request process and fee.

When police did not come to the scene

Pennsylvania drivers must immediately notify police when a crash involves injury or death, or when a vehicle is damaged so badly it has to be towed (75 Pa.C.S. § 3746(a)). Police then investigate. If no officer investigates a crash that met those criteria, each driver involved must send a written report to PennDOT within five days of the crash (75 Pa.C.S. § 3747(a)). PennDOT's form for this is the AA-600, Driver's Accident Report, available on pa.gov. Mail it to the address printed on the current form.

The driver's report is not the same as a police report. By law, it is confidential and is used by the Commonwealth for accident prevention purposes, and it cannot be used as evidence at trial except in narrow circumstances (75 Pa.C.S. § 3747(e) and (f)). PennDOT does not investigate crashes. If there is no police report, your insurance claim will rely more heavily on photos, witness statements, video and medical records, so gather them early.

Why the police may not give you the report yet

There are a few common reasons a request is delayed or refused:

• The report is not finished. Police have 15 days to send an initial report to PennDOT and may file a supplemental report later (75 Pa.C.S. § 3751(a)). Agencies often ask you to wait before requesting.
• Criminal charges are pending. Police may refuse to furnish the complete investigation while criminal charges are pending against anyone involved, unless the criminal court rules require its production (75 Pa.C.S. § 3751(b)(5)). This often happens in DUI and hit-and-run cases.
• You are not an eligible requester. Copies go to people involved in the crash, their attorneys and insurers, and certain government agencies. Someone uninvolved in the crash will usually be refused.
• The information is incomplete. Missing names, a wrong date or no report number can lead to no match.

How the crash report is used in an injury claim

The crash report is often the first thing an insurance adjuster reads. It usually lists the drivers, vehicles, insurers, witnesses, road conditions, a diagram and the officer's description of what happened. That makes it valuable, but it is not the final word on fault. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3751(b)(4), a copy of the police report is not admissible as evidence in a lawsuit for damages arising from the crash. Your claim is proven with testimony, photos, video, vehicle data and medical records.

Read your report carefully. If it has factual errors, such as a wrong name, plate or insurer, contact the investigating department and ask how to correct it or add a supplement. Disagreements about the officer's opinion on fault are usually handled with evidence in the claim, not by changing the report.

The report can also reveal facts that change your claim. If the at-fault vehicle is registered in another state, or the driver was charged with DUI, limited tort restrictions may not apply to you (75 Pa.C.S. § 1705(d)). If the report shows a government vehicle was involved, a 6-month written notice deadline may apply (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522).

Looking for crash statistics instead of a single report

If you want numbers rather than one report, such as crash counts for a road or county, PennDOT publishes statewide crash data through the Pennsylvania Crash Information Tool (PCIT) at crashinfo.penndot.gov. PCIT is built from police reports PennDOT has received and processed. It does not provide copies of individual crash reports.

Let a lawyer get the report for you

If you were hurt, you do not have to chase the report yourself. Pennsylvania law lets your attorney request it, and a lawyer will also look for the evidence the report does not capture, such as nearby business video and vehicle data. Personal injury lawsuits in Pennsylvania generally must be filed within 2 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524), with exceptions, so do not let a report delay your next steps.

Your Legal Warrior works on a 100% contingency fee: no attorney fee unless we recover, all case costs advanced by the firm and repaid only from a recovery, and nothing owed if there is no recovery. Call (267) 412-4601, answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or send the free case review form.